First Post War Subculture Emerges
Post War Britain was harsh but in different and unexpected ways from the war as food rationing continued into the 1950’s, the rebuilding of infrastructure dragged on with housing shortages and economic instability.
So how did the British youth coming of age escape the devastation of their war torn and traumatized country? Music and Fashion brought them together with the birth of the first subculture known as the ‘Teddy Boys’.
In the midst of all this devastation there were still young people trying to find their place in the world, still teenage hormones raging on, still young people looking for a purpose. Their future was uncertain as their parents tried to create a normal post-war life leaving the memories of the war behind. And in the midst of the rebuilding, American rock n roll had come onto the scene.
Combining the dreariness of post war Britain along with this never before heard music on the radio with young people hungry for some excitement, this new subculture spread quickly. Young people were longing for something to happen, longing for an escape from their dull existence as they walked past bomb-damaged buildings that were still awaiting repair or demolition.
Around 1953 newspapers began reporting on a trend in young men’s attire they referred to as the New Edwardian look. The look was created by Saville Row and tried to recapture the optimism of the Edwardian Era. The look was inspired by Edwardian Dandys who placed importance on their appearance and leisurely hobbies. King Edward was known as the leader of the fashionable elite. The Edwardian period is sometimes portrayed as a romantic golden age of long summer afternoons and garden parties, basking in a sun that never set on the British Empire.
The New Edwardian was the look of the middle class reacting to the government imposed austerity. However, the working class teenagers took the look and made it their own. These teens began to identify with each other based on their style, their choice of music, and eventually dance.
This new emerging youth culture became popular right before rock n roll became popular. The two would eventually intersect and sweep across Britain as the very first youth culture known as ‘Teddy Boys’. The name “Teddy Boy”, was coined around September 1953 when a Daily Express newspaper headline shortened Edward to Teddy and coined the term ‘Teddy Boy’ and is often shortened to Teds.
